Friday, April 13, 2007

i am a breast cancer survivor

I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF WOMEN OUT THERE EVERYDAY BEING DIAGNOSED WITH BREAST CANCER AND I WAS ONE OF THEM. YOU MIGHT THINK NO NOT ME I'LL NEVER GET THAT ,BUT NEVER SAY NEVER ALWAYS GET YOUR MAMMOGRAMS AND ALWAYS GIVE YOURSELVES BREAST EXAMS. IF SOMETHING DOESN'T SEEM RIGHT CHECK IT OUT DON'T WAIT.LET ME TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MY SELF.I'M GOING TO BE 50 THIS YEAR AND AM HAPPILY MARRIED WITH FOUR GROWN CHILDREN AND 2 GRANDDAUGHTERS AND ONE ON THE WAY. I AM VERY FAMILY ORIENTED, LOVE BEING WITH MY FAMILY .I ALWAYS HAD CYSTIC BREASTS, I HAD ONE CYST FOR MANY YEARS HAD IT CHECKED AND THEY ALWAYS SAID IT WAS NOTHING SO I NEVER WORRIED . THEN ONE DAY OUT OF NOWHERE A LUMP THE SIZE OF A GOLF BALL. MY HUSBAND KEPT BUGGING ME TO GO GET MY MAMMOGRAM. SO I DID .BUT HONESTLY I THOUGHT IT WAS ANOTHER CYST, OR AT LEAST HOPED IT WAS. SO THEY MADE ME GO FOR A BIOPSY AND SURE ENOUGH IT WAS CANCER BUT NOT ONLY THAT IT SPREAD TO THE CYST THAT WAS THERE FOR YEARS AND THAT HAPPENED WITH IN A COUPLE OF MONTHS.JUST HEARING THE WORD CANCER IS HORRIFYING . THE FIRST THOUGHT IS I'M DYING I CAN'T BELIEVE IT. THEN ALL THE TEARS YOU JUST CAN'T STOP CRYING .ITS A VERY SCARY TIME.AFTER ALL THAT HAPPENS THEN YOU JUST WANT TO GET IT OUT . I GUESS ALL THAT IS NORMAL.I DID ALOT OF READING ABOUT IT WENT ON THE INTERNET AND FOUND OUT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.THE MORE YOU KNOW ABOUT IT THE EASIER IT IS TO DEAL WITH. ONE THING THAT REALLY SCARED ME WAS WAKING UP FROM SURGERY WITH NO BREAST. SO, I READ ALL ABOUT RECONSTRUCTION AND FOUND THAT I WANTED TO HAVE A TRAM FLAP. THAT'S USING YOUR STOMACHE MUSCLES AND FAT TO MAKE A NEW BREAST AND THAT'S WHAT I HAD DONE.

What is Lupus?

Lupus is a chronic, autoimmune disease that can damage any part of the body (skin, joints, and/or organs inside the body). Chronic means that the signs and symptoms tend to last longer than six weeks and often for many years. In lupus, something goes wrong with your immune system, which is the part of the body that fights off viruses, bacteria, and germs ("foreign invaders," like the flu). Normally our immune system produces proteins called antibodies that protect the body from these invaders. Autoimmune means your immune system cannot tell the difference between these foreign invaders and your body’s healthy tissues ("auto" means "self") and creates autoantibodies that attack and destroy healthy tissue. These autoantibodies cause inflammation, pain, and damage in various parts of the body.